Advertise on podcast: The Other Human in the Room

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Devina Wadhwa, a psychiatrist working in Northern Ontario and the Canadian Arctic, who shares how the sudden loss of her father became the catalyst that finally let her question the full-time, say-yes-to-everything pace that had been quietly burning her out. We talk about the subtle early signs of burnout we're trained to ignore, why "complicated grief" might be a redundant phrase, and the very real (and rarely named) role money plays when we consider working less. Devina also opens up about her book, becoming a more human teacher to her learners, and her beautifully unconventional schedule of working six months a year. I left this conversation with a question I can't stop asking myself: what have I relegated to the crust of my life pie, the part that crumbles off first? Connect with Devina: Book: https://www.drdevinamaya.com/books Website: https://www.drdevinamaya.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/drdevinamaya Learn more about Hippocratic Collective: https://hippocraticcollective.org/ Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanchanmd

This week I'm sharing a poem I wrote by a stream during my summer sabbatical, when I was trying to hold onto a slower pace before returning to the breakneck rush of clinical work. I talk about what it means to set my own pace instead of letting patients, pages, and endless demands dictate it for me, and how running a marathon taught me the same lesson: rushing early always costs you later. I share a recent day where staying present with my patients made me "late," and why I've stopped treating that as a failure. This episode is an invitation to find your own rhythm within healthcare's demands. Learn more about Hippocratic Collective: https://hippocraticcollective.org/ Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanchanmd

I sat down with veterinarian, professional speaker, and self-described "unemployable" multipassionate Dr. Caroline Brookfield (who actually has several jobs). We dig into her wildly non-linear career path and why tolerance of ambiguity might be the real antidote to burnout in healthcare. Caroline breaks down her research-backed framework for moving through uncertainty instead of white-knuckling it. This one will make you want to pick up your old hobby, question your medical records, and maybe stop fearing the riptide. Connect with Caroline: Website Workbook: https://carolinebrookfield.com/get-started/ Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinebrookfield/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artfulscience/ Book: https://carolinebrookfield.com/the-reluctant-creative/ Learn more about Hippocratic Collective: https://hippocraticcollective.org/ Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanchanmd

This episode comes to you from the middle of my annual summer sabbatical, where I've been reading romance novels, working with my poetry editor, and thinking a lot about the Karpman Drama Triangle. I read you my poem "Helpless Helper" and use it as a doorway into exploring the victim, rescuer, and persecutor roles I keep finding myself cycling through with patients, with my kids, and with the healthcare system itself. I walk through the healthier shifts — victim to creator, persecutor to challenger, rescuer to coach — and what it actually looks like to step off the merry-go-round instead of convincing everyone you're good. Learn more about Hippocratic Collective: https://hippocraticcollective.org/ Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanchanmd

I sat down again with the wonderful Risa Adams, this time letting go of our usual IFS session format to reflect more openly on what these conversations have meant to me. We talk about the parts of ourselves we find hardest to love, the wisdom of menstrual cycles and lunar shifts, and how overworking is its own kind of dopamine hit. Risa brings her IFS lens to anger, shadow work, and the drama triangle, and I share how giving myself full permission to "divorce" a version of my marriage has actually made it stronger. This one is tender, curious, and full of breadcrumbs to sit with. Connect with Risa: https://www.ifsmedicine.ca/ Creating Space 2026 is open for enrollment! Book your connection call with Joan - head to joanchanmd.com/space Learn more about Hippocratic Collective: https://hippocraticcollective.org/ Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanchanmd

This episode dives into the real history of "part-time" and "full-time," where those definitions came from, and why the 40-hour week was invented to protect workers, not to prove their worth. I share data on physician work hours, disability and part-time practice, and why cutting back is one of the most effective retention strategies we have, yet still isn't celebrated. And I read you a poem, Part-Time Celebration, written for anyone who is considering cutting back and needs a cheerleader to nudge them in that direction. The podcast is going part time!! See you in TWO weeks :) Creating Space 2026 is open for enrollment! Book your connection call with Joan: joanchanmd.com/space Learn more about Hippocratic Collective: https://hippocraticcollective.org/ Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanchanmd

This week I sat down with my dear friend Dr. Kelly Anderson to talk about her debut novel, The Wild Beneath, WHICH COMES OUT AUGUST 4!!! She shares the six-year journey it took to write it while still practicing medicine. We talk about whale songs, introjects we ingest without realizing and why guarding your smallest curiosities might be guarding your whole life. I loved Kelly’s book so much, so I HAD to get this episode out in time for her publishing week, and encourage you all to read it too!! BUY KELLY’S BOOK: https://www.kellychristineanderson.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctorkellyanderson/ Creating Space 2026 is open for enrollment! Book your connection call with Joan: joanchanmd.com/space Learn more about Hippocratic Collective: https://hippocraticcollective.org/ Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanchanmd

I met Alexis Milligan at a theater workshop for medical educators and immediately ran up to her afterward and said: can you please come on my podcast? Alexis is a movement director, actor, director, and the creator of the Theater of Medicine program at the Shaw Festival. This conversation is about what clinicians can learn from performers about presence, embodiment, and showing up fully for the humans in front of us. We talk about imposter syndrome, two-way theater as a metaphor for the clinical encounter, and why movement, sound, and image are just as essential to communication as words and numbers. Connect with Alexis: https://www.alexismilligan.com/ Theatre of Medicine program: https://trellis.org/theatreofmedicine Creating Space 2026 is open for enrollment! Book your connection call with Joan - head to joanchanmd.com/space Learn more about Hippocratic Collective: https://hippocraticcollective.org/ Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanchanmd

Dr. Risa Adams is back for our fifth and final recorded IFS session together, and is a direct follow up from part 4 where I connect with a part stuck in a humiliating grade 4 classroom moment. Risa guides me through the unburdening process, and I share a song that this know-it-all part helped me write! Thank you for all your support of this vulnerable series, it’s been so meaningful and rewarding to share with you. Connect with Risa: http://ifsmedicine.ca/ Creating Space 2026 is open for enrollment! Book your connection call with Joan - head to joanchanmd.com/space Learn more about Hippocratic Collective: https://hippocraticcollective.org/ Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanchanmd

It's the four-year anniversary of The Other Human in the Room, and I am reflecting on what's needed to die this past year — in my podcast, my teaching, my roles, my marriage — and what's quietly being born. From a three-month hiatus to a commencement keynote to becoming a co-site director to a poetry book I'm apparently writing now, this year has been less about building and more about composting. Creating Space 2026 is open for enrollment! Book your connection call with Joan - head to joanchanmd.com/space Learn more about Hippocratic Collective: https://hippocraticcollective.org/ Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanchanmd

This week is all about inviting you to Create Space with me (Joan) this fall! Listen to the audio version of the Creating Space workshop, which includes a detailed description of the course and retreat. Book your connection call with Joan: joanchanmd.com/space Learn more about Hippocratic Collective: https://hippocraticcollective.org/ Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanchanmd

Dr. Laura Vater is a medical oncologist, writer, and advocate for clinician humanity. In this conversation, we go deep on what it actually looks like to protect yourself inside a system that wasn't built with you in mind. We talk about sleep deprivation, suicidal ideation during training, and how Laura found the courage to advocate for change — not all at once, but through longitudinal relationships and slowly building trust. We also geek out together on teaching: how to show up for learners without losing your mind, why the "human skills" deserve the one-sheet, and what it means to lead with what you actually care about. If you've ever felt like you were trying to fit into a version of medicine that wasn't quite yours, this one's for you. Connect with Laura: https://www.lauravater.com/ https://www.instagram.com/doclauravater/ Learn more about Hippocratic Collective: https://hippocraticcollective.org/ Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanchanmd

Dr. Risa Adams is back for our fourth recorded IFS session together, and this one goes somewhere I didn't expect: deep into a nine-year-old version of me who raised her hand in class, got laughed at, and quietly decided that not knowing things was dangerous. We explore what it means to really meet a part of yourself; not to fix her or convince her, but to let her feel genuinely witnessed. If you've ever been hard on yourself for caring too much about what people think, this episode is for you. Connect with Risa: https://www.risaadamsmd.com/ Learn more about Hippocratic Collective: https://hippocraticcollective.org/ Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanchanmd

What happens when a nurse and a pediatrician decide that the antidote to moral distress might be poetry, circles, and the Artist's Way? In this episode, I sit down with Laura Holford, RN and Dr. Anu Gorukanti, co-founders of Introspective Spaces, to talk about contemplative practice, community care, and what it actually looks like to bring your whole weird human self to work. We get into activism, interfaith community, blackout poetry in the NICU, and why creativity isn't a luxury — it's an ethical necessity. This one lit a little firework show in my brain, and I think it might do the same for you. Connect with our guests: https://www.introspectivespaces.com https://www.instagram.com/introspectivespaces/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/introspectivespaces/ Learn more about Hippocratic Collective: https://hippocraticcollective.org/ Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanchanmd

What do dirty dishes and a miscategorized inbox task have in common? More than you'd think. In this episode, I sit down with Alison Jamison — coach for women physicians and certified Fair Play facilitator — to talk about the invisible labor that quietly fuels resentment at home and at work. We dig into Eve Rodsky's Fair Play framework: the idea that true delegation means handing over conception, planning, and execution, not just the doing. If you've ever felt like you're carrying the mental load alone, or wondered why collaborations keep breaking down, this one's for you. Connect with Alison: Workbook - https://www.alisonjamison.com/fairplay IG: https://www.instagram.com/alison_jamison_coaching/ Fair Play Website - https://www.fairplaylife.com/ And the direct link to the cards - https://fairplaypolicy.org/the-cards Learn more about Hippocratic Collective: https://hippocraticcollective.org/ Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanchanmd P.S. If you've been wondering what Creating Space actually looks and feels like from the inside, the next cohort starts in October and registration is open now! Head to joanchan.com/space to book your connection call with me